Banking
Sterling Bank, AMCON in Illegal Land Sale Mess
By Dipo Olowookere
Sterling Bank and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) have both been accused of illegally selling portions of Victory Park Estate belonging to an indigenous real estate development company, Grant Properties Limited (GPL).
The portion of land allegedly sold by the Bank was 10 hectares, which was valued at N5 billion at the time of the sale from the 50-hectare land in Lekki, Lagos, where the estate is to be built. The bank allegedly secretly sold the land to one of its Directors for a fraction of its valued price.
New Telegraph reliably gathered that GPL took a loan from four banks – Unity Bank, Skye Bank, WEMA Bank, and Sterling Bank – to part-finance the development of the estate.
The loan was secured with the transfer of the shares in GPL’s subsidiary company, Knight Rook Ltd to the banks in lieu of a legal mortgage.
In a petition addressed to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Imohimi Edgar, on November 8, 2017, Managing Director of GPL, Dr Olawunmi Olajide-Awosedo, explained that the residue of the loan was transferred to AMCON in 2011 due to liquidity problems in the banks.
The petition, which was acknowledged by the police boss, read in part; “At the time they sold the debt to AMCON, the banks were required to transfer all of our collateral; however, we found out that Sterling Bank secretly withheld 10 hectares of our land which it illegally sold to one of its Directors, Mr Yemi Idowu, a rival real estate developer, who the bank had appointed to manage the account.
“Prior to his appointment to manage the account, he had made an attempt to buy the land for a price below the market value, but we had refused to sell.
“After he secretly bought the land from his bank, Mr Yemi Idowu sold a quarter of it (2.4 hectares) to UPDC Plc for a substantial secret profit. Both UPDC and Mr Idowu commenced construction immediately.”
The GPL noted that despite getting a favourable court judgement, its staff were being tortured by suspected agents of AMCON and its lawyer, Mr Lanre Olaoluwa of Matrix Solicitors.
It also alleged AMCON of forceful eviction of its client and captivity of a mother and her child, as well as a worker.
A copy of the Lagos State High Court judgement obtained by our correspondent showed that the court nullified the sale of the land on June 2, 2017.
The judgement stated that “the land was sold by Sterling Bank after the banks had assigned the loans to AMCON; the documents of the sale were signed by Mr Yemi Adeola & Ms Justina Lewa, Managing Director and Company Secretary of Sterling Bank respectively, who had no authority to do so; Sterling Bank acted alone, as the other banks did not participate in the sale; and GPL was not informed about the sale.”
Dr Awosedo had earlier written the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, on September 28, 2017, detailing what it termed “insider abuse, collusion and fraud” against his company (GPL) by AMCON and Sterling Bank.
The petition, which was also received and acknowledged by the CBN, read: “We took our case to court, and secured 2 orders to stop them from construction, but they disobeyed the Court Orders and continued building. They built a residential development called Cadogan Estate on the land in defiance of the Court Order.
“Having won our case, and secured our land, we wrote to AMCON on 15th June 2017, enclosing a certified true copy of the judgement, and a proposal to repay our loan from the land we won in the judgement. We wrote to AMCON to request for it to value the land and take their payment from it.
“To our surprise, since Friday, June 16, 2017, Olaoluwa has taken over our offices, facilities, estate and homes under an ex parte Court Order granted in August 2016, which should have expired after a maximum of 21 days.
“In fact, he brought an action at the Federal High Court in Abeokuta, seeking among other things, to renew the receivership, and it is instructive to note that the suit is still pending, and the court had not granted him the powers he requested before he began this process.
“As part of the intimidation to force us to compromise our judgement and ratify the illegal sale of our collateral, Olaoluwa and Matrix Solicitors obtained a judgment on October 3rd, 2017 against us in secret, as we were never notified or served any processes concerned with this suit up until they got the judgment. This is despite the fact that a previous case was still pending before the Federal High Court in Abeokuta.
“In fact, on the day they obtained judgment, we actually had a meeting at AMCON offices which was attended by Olaoluwa, his partner and an AMCON team led by Mr Saidu, AMCON’s Company Secretary. We have however filed a motion to set the judgment aside.”
The GPL subsequently called on the Federal Government and other relevant regulatory authorities to order an investigation into the activities of Sterling Bank and AMCON.
It said, “We pray for an immediate and thorough investigation of the involvement of Sterling Bank; its Managing Director, Mr Yemi Adeola; its Company Secretary, Ms Justina Lewa,; Mr Yemi Idowu; and their surrogate companies, including Mosam Global Construction Ltd; RED Ltd (Real Estate Development Company of Nigeria Ltd); SAMTL LTD (Sterling Assets Management & Trust Limited); SAMTL Properties Ltd; and Aircom Ltd in the illegal sale and development of our land.
“The actions of Sterling Bank; Yemi Adeola (MD); Yemi Idowu (Former Director and Shareholder of the bank); and Justina Lewa (its Company Secretary) are illegal under several laws. We want to draw the attention of the government and regulatory authorities to this debacle, so that they can investigate and sanction those who are found to have erred”, he concluded.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An initiative known as Nigeria Lightning Rounds, designed to expand funding opportunities for Nigerian startups and small businesses by connecting founders with local and international investors, has been launched by ProvidusUnity Bank, in partnership with US-based global venture firm and accelerator, gener8tor.
Scheduled to be held on July 15, 2026, Nigeria Lightning Rounds will feature carefully selected startups engaging with targeted investors who have expressed interest in supporting Nigerian innovation.
Participating founders will have the opportunity to pitch their businesses through focused 15-minute virtual sessions facilitated by gener8tor and ProvidusUnity Bank’s networks.
The program will focus on high-growth sectors including fintech, healthtech, manufacturing, sustainability, and AI, but welcomes SMEs from all industries, with intending participants urged to apply via https://www.gener8tor.com/lightning-rounds/nigeria.
“We recognise that access to capital remains one of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Through our partnership with gener8tor, we are creating a platform that connects promising Nigerian founders with investors who can provide the support required to scale their businesses,” the Head of Business Development at ProvidusUnity Bank, Mr Ernest Elue, stated.
“The partnership reinforces ProvidusUnity Bank’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting innovation, enabling access to opportunities, and creating pathways for businesses with high-growth potential,” he added.
Also commenting, the Director of Lightning Rounds at gener8tor, Ms Elizabeth Larios, said, “gener8tor is thrilled to partner with ProvidusUnity Bank to extend the Lightning Rounds model into Nigeria.
“This collaboration reflects our commitment to building equitable ecosystems and driving capital to the most promising and underrepresented entrepreneurs.”
Lightning Rounds are a signature initiative of gener8tor’s investment platform, which has facilitated thousands of investor-startup meetings globally. The format is optimised to eliminate friction, reduce bias in early-stage fundraising, and help founders secure capital from investors aligned with their mission and stage. gener8tor’s previous Lightning Rounds for Nigerian Founders in 2025 featured 18 participating Investors and led to 50 investment meetings facilitated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The verification of the depositors of the 46 microfinance banks, whose operating licenses were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over a week ago, has commenced.
The exercise, aimed at refunding those whose funds were trapped in the small lenders, is being conducted by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
In a statement on Thursday, the agency said its staff members have been positioned at the offices of the affected banks across the country to attend to depositors.
It was disclosed that depositors of the defunct banks, who had their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) linked to their accounts in the failed banks, will be paid through their alternative accounts in existing banks.
However, depositors whose BVNs were not linked to their accounts in the failed banks have been encouraged to visit the affected banks’ offices with proof of account ownership, a passport photograph, verifiable means of identification (Driver’s Licence, Permanent Voter’s Card, International Passport or National ID Card) and BVN.
NDIC also stated that depositors can alternatively file their claims online through its website: www.ndic.gov.ng, to complete the Pre-Verification Claims Form by clicking on the Search Bar, and typing Pre-Verification Claims Form; opening the Form and filling in their details. They can also do so by clicking the link: https://ndic.gov.ng/ndic-pre-verification-claims-form/ or by visiting any of the NDIC offices closest to them to file their claims.
For further enquiries, the corporation can be reached on any of the following lines: 09037273810, 09038197064, 08104220807, 09064657140.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) enrolment has slowed significantly in 2026 following the introduction of a stricter regulatory framework by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the latest data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) showing that registrations are on course to fall well below last year’s record.
The BVN database stood at 69.55 million as of July 5, 2026, up from 69.32 million in June, indicating that only 228,947 new registrations were recorded over the period. Since the end of 2025, when the database stood at 67.8 million, total enrolments have increased by 1.75 million.
At the current pace, however, BVN registrations are unlikely to match the 4.3 million new enrolments recorded in 2025, suggesting a sharp deceleration in growth this year.
The slowdown comes after the CBN introduced a revised BVN regulatory framework in March, with the new rules taking effect on May 1, 2026. The framework tightened controls around enrolment, identity verification and fraud monitoring as part of efforts to strengthen the integrity of the banking system.
Among the key changes was the introduction of a minimum enrolment age of 18 years, effectively preventing minors from registering for a BVN.
The new framework also limits customers to a one-time change of the phone number linked to their BVN and requires financial institutions to place BVNs linked to suspected fraudulent transactions on a temporary watch-list for up to 24 hours while investigations are carried out.
The stricter rules contrast with last year’s surge in registrations, which was largely driven by the introduction of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) initiative that enabled Nigerians in the diaspora to complete BVN enrolment remotely, removing physical barriers and expanding access to the financial system.
Launched on February 14, 2014, the BVN scheme was introduced by the CBN in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, NIBSS and German technology firm Dermalog to assign every bank customer a unique biometric identity that can be verified across Nigeria’s banking industry.
